Everything about Santander Colombia totally explained
Santander is a
department of
Colombia. Santander inherited the name of one of the nine original states of the
United States of Colombia. It is located in the central northern part of the country, east of the
Magdalena River, bordered to the south and east by
Boyacá, and to the north by
Norte de Santander Department. Its capital is the city of
Bucaramanga.
History
Pre-Colombian
Prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards the terrirtory of now Santander was inhabited by
Amerindian ethnic groups;
Muiscas,
Chitareros,
Laches,
Yariguí,
Opón,
Carare and
Guanes.
Their political and social structure was based on
Cacicazgos a federation of tribes led by a
cacique, with different social classes. Their main activity consisted on planting
maize,
beans,
yuca,
arracacha,
cotton,
Agave,
tobacco,
tomato,
pineapple,
guava, among others, their agricultural skills were somewhat developed, taking advantages of the different mountainous terrains. The Guanes utilized
terraces and an artificial system of
irrigation and had knowledge on arts and crafts based on ovens to produce
ceramics, used the cotton to confection indumentary and accessories such as hats and bags.
Colonization
Spanish Conqueror Antonio de Lebrija led the first expedition through the area in 1529. The area was later invaded c. 1532 by
German Ambrosius Ehinger in a quest to find
El Dorado disrrupting and destroying many of the Amerindian villages. Some ethnic groups like the Yariguíes, Opones, and Carares fought the conquerors until becoming extinct. Explorer
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada later made presence in the area in an effort to apeace the tribes. The colonization process in the area was started by
Martín Galeano who founded the village of
Vélez on
July 3,
1539 and
Pedro de Ursúa and
Ortún Velasco founded the village of
Pamplona (now part of the
Norte de Santander Department) in 1549.
Once the
Amerindian tribes were dominated the Spanish organized the territory based on
Cabildos (councils) to maintain the dominance and administer justice in the conquered territory. Amerindian were enslaved and forced to work on agriculture fields, manufacturing goods and mines. These two villages functioned as centers for the Cabildos territories. In 1636 the Cabildo of Vélez was transferred to a new jurisdiction managed in the village of
Girón, which area went from the
Sogamoso River,
Río del Oro to the
Magdalena River. The village of
San Gil was created in 1689, segregated from the Jurisdiction of Vélez. In 1789 the village of
Socorro was also segregated from Vélez and all them put under the mandate of the
Province of Tunja, subdivision of the
Viceroyalty of New Granada. On
July 9,
1795 the corregimiento of Velez - San Gil - Socorro is created due to the unsustainability of the Province of Tunja, establishing the local government in the village of Socorro.
Administrative divisions
Provinces
The department is subdivided into
provinces:
Municipalities
Further Information
Get more info on 'Santander Colombia'.
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